Rutherford schools could award new subs contract

MURFREESBORO — A company that pledges to fill 97 percent of requests for substitute teachers could receive a $2.4 million contract to provide services for Rutherford County Schools during the county school board's meeting on Thursday.

The Rutherford County Board of Education is set to consider a one-year contract with the possibility of extensions with PESG Educational Staffing Solutions to recruit and place substitute educators for the school system.

The school board meeting is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. Thursday at the Board of Education office at 2240 Southpark Drive in Murfreesboro.

The national firm would work to recruit substitutes and offer bonuses to those who work at one school system for 10 or more days during a month, Henry Bledsoe, president and CEO of PESG, said during the board's work session Wednesday.

If it is unable to fill 97 percent of classrooms as promised, the company would pay a self-imposed penalty back to the school system tied to the number of teachers it was unable to replace, Bledsoe said.

"We want to make Rutherford County the model," Bledsoe said.

The potential contract comes as schools officials still work to recruit substitute teachers and avoid scrambling to staff classrooms when they are unable to find enough workers.

Paula Barnes, assistant superintendent for human relations and student services, said the system's current fill rate is about 87 percent, which was 2 percent higher from when a $5 raise was approved for substitutes in January. Unfilled absences can still range from 10 to 75 in a typical school day, she said.

While she said their relationship with current contractor Advantage XPO was positive, she was optimistic about the services PESG could provide. In Tennessee, the firm already contracts with the Lebanon Special School District and Grainger County Schools.

"We think they will serve our system very well," Barnes said at the work session.

Ideally, the substitutes who work with PESG and Rutherford County Schools would feel invested and committed to the school system, Bledsoe said. Those who are licensed to teach in Tennessee also could be recruited for a permanent teaching job through substitute work.

"We can recruit so they can fulfill their needs," Bledsoe said.

Additional bonuses also would be available for retired Rutherford County teachers who want to return to the classroom. The initiative would allow those educators to continue to invest in local schools and further support students, said board member Aaron Holladay.

"It'll help our educators, it'll help our students, and it will do wonders for our communities," Holladay said.

The county school board also is set to consider approving four system policies, including one creating a uniform structure for the renting and use of school buildings, for the second and final time. The facilities use policy is expected to be altered to allow universities and public school groups with in-kind relationships with the school system to use campus space for free.

Board members also are scheduled to consider whether to approve new math and career and technical education textbooks for the 2016-17 school year. A list of materials was previously recommended by the school system's textbook committees in both subjects.